The last of the old school Hammer Films from their original run is an interesting yet convoluted movie. The story is very difficult to follow, but we have Christopher Lee hamming it up as a former Priest turned Satanist (as opposed to playing the Prince of Darkness, Dracula) and an obviously uncomfortable Richard Widmark as an occult writer out to stop him from letting the demon 'Astaroth ' be reborn in human form through a luscious young nun (portrayed by Nastassja Kinski). Widmark reminds me of tough guy Charles Bronson in his performance here as he faces off with Lee, who also seems to sport some sort of telepathic powers that enable him to steal the nubile nun away from Widmark's guardianship a couple of times. The ending is rather abrupt and anti-climactic, but there are some notable setpieces peppered throughout the proceedings, including satanic orgies, a hideous-looking baby demon getting down to business on a very naked Nastassja Kinski RE-ANIMATOR style, another fully nude sequence with Ms. Kinski baring it all proudly, and a birth sequence where a woman's legs are tied together during labor that is downright uncomfortable to watch! Not nearly as good as the classic and similarly-themed ROSEMARY'S BABY, but TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER still packs a minor punch in the "satanic movie" sub-genre. Hammer fans will enjoy revisiting this one and if you're a fan of "slow burn" occult movies like THE LEGACY, you should enjoy this one.
The last of the old school Hammer Films from their original run is an interesting yet convoluted movie. The story is very difficult to follow, but we have Christopher Lee hamming it up as a former Priest turned Satanist (as opposed to playing the Prince of Darkness, Dracula) and an obviously uncomfortable Richard Widmark as an occult writer out to stop him from letting the demon 'Astaroth ' be reborn in human form through a luscious young nun (portrayed by Nastassja Kinski). Widmark reminds me of tough guy Charles Bronson in his performance here as he faces off with Lee, who also seems to sport some sort of telepathic powers that enable him to steal the nubile nun away from Widmark's guardianship a couple of times. The ending is rather abrupt and anti-climactic, but there are some notable setpieces peppered throughout the proceedings, including satanic orgies, a hideous-looking baby demon getting down to business on a very naked Nastassja Kinski RE-ANIMATOR style, another fully nude sequence with Ms. Kinski baring it all proudly, and a birth sequence where a woman's legs are tied together during labor that is downright uncomfortable to watch! Not nearly as good as the classic and similarly-themed ROSEMARY'S BABY, but TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER still packs a minor punch in the "satanic movie" sub-genre. Hammer fans will enjoy revisiting this one and if you're a fan of "slow burn" occult movies like THE LEGACY, you should enjoy this one.
